September 27, 2006

Bengals' Thurman suspended for season: Cincinnati Bengals middle linebacker Odell Thurman had his four-game suspension extended to one year for violating the NFL substance abuse policy following his arrest early Monday on a drunken driving charge, making him the sixth Bengal arrested this year.

What is it going to take for this guy to get his head straight? He's going to end up getting hurt, or hurting someone else. Obviously Chris Henry hasn't learned anything either. I wouldn't be surprised if Henry is benched for this weekend and possibly more.

If Marvin Lewis was serious about discipline, this problem wouln't exist with the Bengals. I look for Chris Henry to start as scheduled, even with four arrests in one year and being ordered by a judge to stay away from alcohol. This is where the NFL needs to step in a little further and have some sort of stricter league policy on discipline if the franchise/coach won't impose any!

As a long suffering Bengals fan, I was elated to see them draft Thurman because I thought Lewis could turn him around. Winning and success can turn a thug around sometimes..... It angers me to see them throw all this away for some booze and drugs (Henry). I agree the NFL should do more to prevent this before it gets worse. Maybe a permanent ban after 3 strikes......

Why don't any of these millionaires' have a limo??? Or at least use one when they are going to go out and party? Maybe this is something that should be thought of when writting out a $50,000,000 contract. If you get arrested you breach the contract and you have to pay it all back. Simple?

It saddens me to see athletes/people like this throw everything away. I am a die hard steelers fan and will not say anything negative about Thurman or Terrell Owens (abbreviated names don't do it for me! Right BenRo!) I just hope that both of these people seek help of some kind. They are both tremendous athletes. Good Luck to both of these men and God Bless.

How do you think D. Pollack, Odell's longtime teammate with the bulldogs and bengals feels about the situation. One man's career might be over with a broken neck and another is willing to throw his away with drugs n alcohol. As a Bengals fan I'd like to know if they can trade places?

I agree with redliner. Marvin Lewis is in Cincinnati to coach football--not to play nanny to a bunch of grown men. If Odell and Chris (among others) want to throw away the opportunity to play professional football, let 'em. We're 3-0 and we're going strong.

Odell and Chris (among others) want to throw away the opportunity to play professional football, let 'em. We're 3-0 and we're going strong. See? Winning cures everything. This truly is a perverse universe. I'm going back to the other one.

The sad thing is, that is the way people act in this day and age. They have it made and don't care. It's like they have the mentality of, "I can do anything I want". It all goes back to respect for yourself and others. Maybe if he had gotten his a$$ spanked a few times when he was growing up, this wouldn't have happened.

What is it going to take for this guy to get his head straight? and Some of these guys just don't understand until they're shot thrice by an off-duty cop..... I have some family members who are dealing with alcoholism. They are doing well now, but still realize that at any time they can revert to their old ways. Alcohol addiction, as well as drug addiction, and even addictive gambling, are a disease. There is evidence that alcoholism is a genetic disease. Those who have it are powerless to deal with it alone. Twelve-step programs can help. The problem is that being forced into such a program usually renders it ineffective. The addict must seek help on his own. Rarely will this happen before the addict has "bottomed out". One can only hope that his personal bottom is reached before an accommodating cop draws a weapon.

I feel for Marvin Lewis. He has always been a gentleman and carried himself with class. It would seem out of character for him to draft players with questionable characters to win. But maybe he sold his soul and now has to live with it. I would love to think this has been a bad coinsidence with the Bengals....but I doubt it.

I would love to think this has been a bad coinsidence with the Bengals....but I doubt it. Why? What makes you doubt it? There were, what, 4 bengals arrested over the last year (depending on how you count Askew, who was cut). Aside from Henry (which yeah, I'll admit I didn't feel good about cheering for those two touchdowns lastweek), how many of those guys have contributed significantly? That's right, none. Thurman was already suspended (BTW Lewis had his locker cleared out before he was suspended for the rest of the year by the league... I wouldn't expect to see him in a Bengals uniform again), Nicholson hasn't even been active all three games and, if he is, only plays on special teams, And Rucker just went on IR. My point is there are 50 other players (the vast majority, by the way) who are not in trouble and are contributing exponentially more to the success of the team than those who have been arrested. or even a cab. sheesh. ... That's what I keep thinking. Or even, given that they were probably in a bar full of Bengals fans, finding some one where they were sober enough to drive them home

The problem with that is that it is not just the Bengals. The Bengals issue just draws more attention because we have seen it before. All of sports is condemned by the mentality of its players. Maybe they need to start spending some of that money on his/her brain rather than his/her brawn.

This is definately not helping the stereotype of the stupid football player. If people believe that stereotype, it is because they choose to do so. There are plenty of examples of intelligent football players.

"depending on how you count Askew" I count Askew as a victim of DWB. If you scratch the surface of his case, it just another story of cops getting frisky with the Tasers. Askew has a nice lawsuit pending against the Cincy PD.